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Illinois School Board Journal - ARCHIVES
January-February, 2007
ASK THE STAFF:
Resource Center offers ways to find out more
Jennifer Nelson, IASB Manager of Information Services, answers the question for this issue.
Question: Members of our board attended the annual conference in Chicago in November and brought back good information on a variety of topics. However, our board would like to obtain more information, especially in the areas of school violence and finances. Where do we look?
Answer: This is one of those instances when a simple Google search on the Internet may not result in the specialized information you might want, but your question has led you to the right place.
Illinois Association of School Boards has its own Resource Center and access to the type of specialized information you want. However, you may need to do a little homework first.
Before contacting IASB's Resource Center, try to narrow your focus. By framing your question properly, you are more likely to yield helpful results. The more information you can provide, the better your final product will be. Examples of narrowing your search include:
1. The type of information. There are many different categories of information we can find for you. It is important to tell us if you want hard data (statistics, enrollment numbers, etc.) or background research, or a combination of both.
2. Provide us with a time frame for your inquiry. Do you have a specific period of time you are focusing on? Providing this information helps to narrow down your results as well as enabling us to not provide you with outdated information.
3. The format of materials. Would you like Internet resources, academic journals, books or a combination of all types?
4. Most importantly, share with us the background of your question. Understanding the community issues involved in a request will help to provide more focused information to your district.
The search capabilities of IASB's Resource Center include a variety of resources. We maintain an in-house database of articles from a variety of sources including research foundations, the National School Boards Association and other state school board associations, in addition to our own publications.
Our reference files consist of more than 600 separate subject files containing articles and information collected from a variety of publications. In addition to these on-site resources, we are a member of regional and national online services as well as participating in interlibrary loans. All our resources enable us to answer most issues you or your district might be facing.
IASB also offers numerous publications to assist with your district's needs. As an example, our new edition of "Essentials of School Finance" provides an effective reference for understanding the ins and outs of school finance. In regards to school violence, we offer "Anger Management in Schools" and "Safe Schools."
We also offer numerous free publications, including "Understanding School Finance" and "Seating New Members and Organizing the New Board." Free publications are available in either single or multiple copies depending on the title.
All of these titles, in addition to numerous free resources mentioned above, are available through our new Publications Catalog, "Proceed to Solutions," that was mailed to superintendents and members in December. A copy of the catalog also is available by calling 217/528-9688, ext. 1108.
Or, if you would rather shop on-line, publications available from IASB can be found by clicking on the "Visit the IASB Online Bookstore" icon on the association's home Web page, or accessing http://iasb.com/shop/.
Your district also has options once you have received the information or publication you requested. With permission, districts can link to our Web site at http://www.iasb.com to make some publications and most articles from The Illinois School Board Journal or the Newsbulletin available to a wider audience in their district.
The Resource Center is available to help with all your questions because informed, knowledgeable school board members make the best decisions. Please contact me at 217/528-9688, ext. 1105 or by e-mail at jnelson@ iasb.com.